Georgetown’s student representative on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission reversed her vote on Tuesday night, deciding to oppose a measure she originally co-wrote which would have encouraged the University to extend its one-keg-per-party rule to off-campus residences. The resolution passed unanimously at a Commission meeting last week.
Lowenstein attributed her change of mind to conversations she had with Student Association leaders, including former Deputy Chief of Staff Matt Stoller (COL ’08) and former Chief of Staff Eden Schiffmann (COL ’08).
“They came to me with these very reasoned and sound arguments that I just felt really compelled to support,” she said.
Lowenstein’s resolution outraged many Georgetown students. Stoller made a Facebook.com group opposing it which grew to 202 members by Wednesday.
“She was elected to represent the student voice and defend the student interests to the greater Georgetown community,” Stoller wrote in an e-mail. “And the student voice is saying to withdraw her vote, to back down.”
Lowenstein plans to propose another letter reversing the earlier one at the next meeting on Feb. 27, but her fellow commissioners still support the resolution.
“I think if the University is expressing concern about the well-being of it students, it should extend that concern to students no matter where they live,” said Lowenstein’s co-author, Bill Skelsey, who said the issue wouldn’t damage his relationship with Lowenstein, calling her a “full-fledged and respected member of the commission.”
